MOC approves financial assistance to Telangana’s Nikhat Zareen and Sreeja Akula

The assistance includes her airfare, boarding and lodging along with her coach, visa fees and medical insurance, among others

HYDERABAD: The Mission Olympic Cell (MOC) approved boxer Nikhat Zareen’s request for financial assistance to participate in 17-day international training in Tashkent along with Uzbekistan’s elite women’s team from May 8 to 23. The assistance includes her airfare, boarding and lodging along with her coach, visa fees and medical insurance, among others.

The MOC also cleared the proposals of table tennis players Manika Batra and Sreeja Akula for financial assistance towards competing in the ITTF World Championship in Doha, Qatar, from May 17 to 25.

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The MOC also inducted seven compound archers in TOPS (Target Olympic Podium Scheme) Core group at their 155th meeting on Wednesday. The MOC took cognisance of the International Olympic Committee’s recent decision to make compound archery part of the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics.

It is the first time since archery’s re-introduction to the Olympic Games in 1972 that a new bow style has been added to the competition.

The seven compound archers inducted directly in TOPS Core group are Ojas Pravin Deotale, Jyothi Surekha Vennam, Aditi Gopichand Swami, Abhishek Verma, Parneet Kaur, Priyansh, and Prathamesh Samadhan Jawkar.

Recently, compound archers demonstrated their dominance in the sport at the Archery World Cup in Florida, USA. India’s most decorated compound archer, Jyothi Surekha Vennam, clinched three gold medals there. The Asian Games gold medallist bagged the women’s team top honours with Aditi Swami and Parneet Kaur. She then teamed up with Abhishek Verma to win the mixed team gold. Jyothi also beat Mexico’s Andrea Becerra to win the individual gold medal.

In the men’s event, Abhishek Verma, Priyansh and Prathamesh’s Fuge team grabbed the gold, while Priyansh settled for silver. For induction in TOPS Core, the seven archers fulfilled the eligibility criteria of having average arrow score of 9.77 for men and 9.67 for women apart from being a medallist at the recently held World Championships or World Games, top-4 rank in team event of World Championships or World Games or individual/team medallist in the previous Asian Games.

The MOC cleared 56 proposals across TOPS, TEAMS and TAGG (Target Asian Games Group) disciplines to the tune of Rs 4.37 crore. The MOC cleared long jumper Shaili Singh’s proposal for financial assistance to compete in the UAE Grand Prix on May 9 and the UAE Athletics Women’s Gala on May 11, 2025. Shaili, 21, shattered coach and legendary athlete Anju Bobby George’s 23-year-old record with a leap of 6.64 metres at the recently concluded Federation Cup in Ernakulam.

The 2018 Asian Games silver medallist in equestrian, Fouaad Mirza, will also receive financial support for competing in 18 events till December 2025, which includes tournament entry fees, horse and rider travelling expenses, boarding and lodging for 140 days and coaching fees.

The 15-year-old tennis player Maaya Rajeswaran’s proposal seeking financial assistance for 22 international competitions and training at the iconic Rafa Nadal Academy in Mallorca, Spain till December 2025 was also approved by the MOC. Maaya is currently the youngest tennis player to be inside the top 700 in the WTA rankings.

The MOC also cleared the proposal of fencer Bhavani Devi for a 150-day international training camp in Italy with coach Cristian Bauer, apart from competing in five international events. 18-year-old cyclist Harshita Jakhar’s request for providing financial assistance towards the purchase of a specialised road time trial bike costing Rs 14.40 lakh was also approved by the MOC.

Paris Paralympics silver medallist Nishad Kumar’s request for financial assistance towards training in Chula Vista, USA, for 60 days was also given a go-ahead by the MOC. Two-time Paralympic gold medallist Sumit Antil’s proposal for financial support to compete in the Nottwil World Para Athletics Grand Prix 2025 was also cleared by the MOC.

The 155th MOC was attended by Pullela Gopichand, Viren Rasquinha, Prashanti Singh, Kamlesh Mehta, MM Somaya, Siddharth Shanker of Reliance Foundation, among others.